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With Shelter & Denon: With the ca. €230 MM Shelter the table grew in impact and swing, something I attributed to the vigor whereby the Japanese cartridge jumped into bass duties. Those on stern diets will protest that it delivered more than strictly necessary but it did so quite with bravura. The TD309 grew an extra octave and more pressure and definition down low. A side effect was a small infusion of warmth in the midband while the upper registers remained as loud as with the AT, albeit better resolved. I enjoyed how sonorous the saxophone arose in the middle of my room and how dirty the electrical guitar growled on Ween’s "A Teddy For Eddy" song even if the low end for my taste grew a bit too thick.


Where cymbals were previously foreshortened and blurred, they now rang out longer to be more informative. Soundstaging too improved in transparency, articulation and showed clearly more depth layering. This in conjunction with the wholesale gains in resolution created more intimacy with the earlier ladies to be more than respectable if perhaps not the core competence of this deck/system combo. As suspected, the initial limitations were due the stock cart, not the table itself. The Shelter 201 addition would be commendable for listeners who dig a fulsome very extended bass balance, overall warmth, propulsive drive and in matters of soundstaging and resolving power expect ‘standard competence’ without making those aspects paramount. For a total of about €1.800, this is a real winner. Simply insure that the system which this analog source slips into isn’t too bass happy already. Those tendencies could add up quickly.

The opposite held true for the MC Denon DL-103. That played on the lean side of neutral to veer into the slightly thin. In general, the 103 has never been considered the final word on sub bass. While arguably being the world’s most popular affordable pickup, I share the opinion that its frequency extremes are limited. What you get is a (wide) slice instead. In this instance, the TD309 simply moved this slice up to attenuate the bass. On the other hand, the Denon’s usually somewhat lazy behavior down low was replaced by wiriness and speed and its softened treble properly reset.


So I asked myself whether I’d ever heard the Denon this energetic and microdynamically adept, this articulate down low, this glistening on high, with such an exceptionally open airy stage. Was I dreaming? To be sure I engaged in some heavy swapping between Thorens TD309 and my resident Acoustic Solid MPX (with 9-inch Jelco).

The Schwabian high-mass deck was tonally more even though somewhat shaded in the upper end offset by more pressure down low, with a vocal band free of the Swiss player’s tendency for crispness. The MPX also had the upper hand in localization focus and a calmer more sorted stage. It was likely more correct if also a bit more boring than what the Thorens served up with the Denon. The Swiss was the more quicksilvery, dynamically more charged and outright glued itself to the lips of singers. Without the by comparison slightly reserved stance of the MPX, the direct connection with the music intensified. I felt more immediately involved.

The question which presentation was more correct found itself quickly replaced by wondering which record to spin next. Beyond its non-standard cosmetics, the Thorens TD309 is a very cleverly engineered table. There are interesting detail solutions, a purpose-designed tone arm and smartly repurposed drive-unit spiders to center the decoupling footers and motor ‘housing’.


The sonics with the stock Audio Technica AT95E pickup are characterized by:
  • A substantial and texturally more juicy than dry bass that lacks staying power in the lowest octave.
  • A properly weighted midband which is more sonorous than crisp.
  • A neutral treble that somewhat lacks in detail resolution.
  • A very broad soundstage with decent image focus.
  • A generally very involving character that’s due to excellent macrodynamics and a rhythmically fluid swinging presentation.

Particularly the last trait seems to be a signature of this table as it was independent of whatever cartridge I picked. This certain something of drive and élan makes the Thorens a must audition for anyone who shops in this price range. The stock TD309 already does well but depending on cartridge has a lot more to offer (and how boring would hifi be without any upgrade options).

Facts:
  • Trim: Red or black plinth, the remainder black, tone arm silver
  • Concept: Sub-chassis table, motor integrated with the plinth, cardan-suspended 9-inch arm, Audio Technica AT95E moving magnet pickup stock
  • Speeds: 33.3 and 45RPM, fine trim possible
  • Dimensions and weight: 470 x 125 x 430mm WxHxD, 6.5kg
  • Website

redaktion @ fairaudio.de